New Ulm weekly review., 1887-04-27
Hits the Bear In the Eve.

Hits the Bear in the Eye. 81
Owing to the large crop Of mast in
the western range Of the Sierra Terra
Nate this season silver-tip bears are
very numerous, writes q Carmen, Mex
LEO, correspondent of the New York
Sun. In size they run from 900 to
I 1000 pounds. They arevery savage.
and, like their alleged ancestors. the
grizzly, they are susceptible to insult.
If there is anything that annoys
huge silyer-tip it is for hunter to in
wade his cave and disturb him in his
winter nap. Knowing this it takes q
man ofnerye to climb up the steep sides
of arocky canyon, and crawl on hands
and knees into q cave known to be
inhabited by his bearship. In these
parts there is just one man who looks
upon such undertakings as picnic.
This is John u. Bridges, one Of Gen.
Clusters old scouts. He is q dead
shot, man without fear and what
some folks call oolhardy. For many
years he was detective In the Rocky
mountain outfit, and travelled exten-
siyely through the wilderness OF the
west. Recently he has drifted into
Mexico, whero he has been devoting
his time to hunting.
The other day Mr.. Bridges and
friend were out camping in themount-
aims, shooting Whitehall deer in
growth OF scrub Hveoak. Every few
steps along the arroyo there were
signs of bear and fresh tracks. In the
clubbing season this is a very dangerous
place to pass through, the jungle being
SO thick. The morning was COO, and g.
skim Of thin ice spread over the water
holes. Knowing that the bears had
probably "holed up' in anticipation
Oft the cold snap, Mr.. Bridges went on,
poking his nose into every cavern in
the volcanic rock sides OF the canyon.
At last he spied what appeared to be
fssure way up in the steep canyon
side, some 15O feet above the game
trail at the bottom of the valley. One
look was sufficient to make him say
to his companion: saThere is a big
bear up in that hole. Go up and
shoot it.
Bridges friend took a look at the
almost perpendicular hillside, at the
same time experiencing sudden In
crease in years and weight.
'It.s too steep to climb, isn't it?"
he said.
ooh, no." replied Bridges in whis.
per; ''put your rifle on the ledge, haul
yourself up, do it again, and you can
crawl on your hands and knees up the
rest Of the way. You will have to step
down into the cave, and after waiting
a while you will see the bears eyes
shine. Then shoot the old son Of
gun in the eye.''
But suppose don't hit him in the
eye. " suggested the other.
But you must" said the scout.
'Go on
1t is disagreeable thing for any
one to weaken at any time, but espe-
cially for any one when he is out hunt
ing with an old hunter of Bridges re-
noWn. But the hillside now looked
like q wall and the cave big enough to
hold a family of elephants. So Bridges
partner said: don't want him,
Jack; get him yourself. /"
The old man never said a word, He
climbed up the steep rocks like
squirrel and disappeared into the cave.
Several minutes passed; then q faint
crack was heard in the mountain.
Some pale blue smoke drifted out of
the mouth of the cave, and then
Bridges came out and quietly dropped
down the hillside It took three men
to drag the bear out of the cave, lift
him over the wall rock, and roll him
down to the trail He weighed $40
pounds, and was shot in the left eye.
Bridges has not referred to the mat
ter since.